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I am Olga from Delicious Istanbul. Most of the time I eat, cook and shop for food in Istanbul and show others how to do that with gusto.
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Category Archives: Istanbul Food ABC
Menemen Recipe - Turkish Scrambled Eggs Rethought
If there is an iconic food that many Istanbulites would swear by, it is menemen, scrambled eggs cooked with tomatoes and green peppers and traditionally served in a tin-lined copper pan with two handles (sahan). The eggs are a bit undercooked: there is a definite joy in breaking a large piece off the white bread, dipping it onto the moist eggs and munch this deliciousness enriched by the tomatoes and crunchy peppers.
See more: breakfast, eggs, recipe
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Istanbul Spice Market: Where and How to Shop
Istanbul Spice Market, once the largest spice trading venue of the medieval world, with its abundant stalls still featuring piles of edible exotics is a definite highlight for anyone exploring Istanbul and a favorite stop during my Delicious Istanbul Food Walking Tour. As with all the touristic highlights you need to be prepared to fetch some fantastic finds and not to fall for any of the catches.
See more: markets, places
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Gluten-free Istanbul
Every time I am reading mouthwatering accounts of Istanbul food I sign: often times the authors tend to be rather insensitive to the cravings of those who for health issues or out of their own choice stick to a particular diet - gluten free, low-carb, vegetarian, vegan, raw eating - you name it. Unless you are one of them it has probably never occurred to you that giving up particular food does not make you less of a foodie. And when you travel around you want to explore local flavors as much as your all-eating companions. In order to give a lead to the traveling foodies with dietary restrictions or food allergies I am starting a series of articles with tips on how to savor Istanbul to their own taste. This article is about gluten-free Istanbul.
See more: dining, gluten-free
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Ode to Turkish Breakfast
Only half-awake, barefoot, wearing the gotten-as-gifts pink-bears-patterned chemise and little heart-shaped pendant on a silver chain I was sitting at the kitchen of Reyhan Hanım* and could not believe my luck - a most elaborate breakfast was served on the table. I seemed to have scored the highest points in the life draw: not only I met the love of my life, this wonderful Turkish man, and now his lovely and welcoming parents but also the whole heritage of Turkish cuisine is pouring down on me.
See more: breakfast, story
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Top 5 Istanbul Food Items You Can’t Leave Without
Ah, once I was also seduced by a cheap Gucci silk scarf, overpaid for a bag of apple tea and had a beautiful ceramic plate foisted off on me. All these goodies were then shipped to my parents’ place and stored in a large cupboard. Thanks God, I have managed to avoid buying a carpet. In time I have developed a more practical approach to my Istanbul shopping and whenever I go back home I get only things that would definitely be used and enjoyed by my near and dear. And yes, I am talking about food.
See more: markets, shopping
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Turkish Tea: Art of Making, Serving and Drinking
An obsession, an addiction, a daily routine, a ritual, a welcome gesture, a conversation starter, a break from work, a breakfast companion, a way to while away the time and what not. These are many roles and faces of the Turkish tea. As a visitor to a shop, a public office, a friends’ house in Turkey you are often served a tulip-shaped glass of hot tea crimson in color with two tiny sugar cubes on a saucer and a little spoon to stir. And the pleasure of hugging that beautiful glass with your fingers and feeling the warmth of the tea on your palm does its magic as it comforts you and lets the conversation flow.
See more: beverage, customs, tea time
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Baklava: Secrets Hidden Under the Layers of Dough
One of the dearest memories brought home from Istanbul (often packed in boxes and eaten away quickly) is the taste of baklava, a syrupy sweet made with numerous layers of paper-thin dough, or yufka, brushed with butter and sprinkled with honey and ground pistachio, hazelnut or walnut. It is no surprise that so many countries in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus claim it was them giving birth to baklava long time back and ever since they have been having their fingers in every baklava tray.
See more: desserts, places, what to eat
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